Favorite Schools

Favorite Teams

Knicks links: Isiah Thomas suddenly cares about player development

20111214_jtl_sj8_067.JPG

Isiah Thomas' pro career has been followed by failed stints as president of the Toronto Raptors, as owner of the CBA, a mediocre stretch as coach with the Indiana Pacers, his disastrous tenure with the Knicks and a poor effort as head coach at Florida International (pictured above).
(James Lang/US PRESSWIRE)

The guy who traded
Anfernee Hardaway's expiring contract and a 19-year-old Trevor Ariza for an
end-of-the-line Steve Francis suddenly believes in cap flexibility and player
development.

Isiah Thomas, one
of the greatest point guards and worst businessmen the world will ever know,
was at Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Tuesday night and he spoke with several
Knicks beat writers in attendance.

"I
thought the Knicks had a great year, I really do," said Thomas—the Knicks
former president and coach—as
quoted by Newsday's Al Iannazzone.
"They won the Atlantic Division. They got eliminated by now what we know
is a much better Indiana team than everybody really gave credit to. I thought
[Roy] Hibbert was the difference in the series . . . He became the best center
in the East and I think he was the difference in the series."

Thomas'
focus on Hibbert led Frank Isola of the New
York Daily News to point out that Thomas was against the Knicks'
acquisition of Tyson Chandler.

Thomas' praise of
Hibbert could be construed as a subtle dig at Tyson Chandler, who was badly
outplayed in the second round series won by the Pacers in six games. Thomas
would not elaborate but according to sources he was not in favor of the Knicks
using their amnesty provision on Chauncey Billups in order to sign Chandler to
a long term deal.

According to the
source, Thomas felt that the Knicks should have maintained salary cap
flexibility until Chris Paul became a free agent this July. Paul memorably gave
a toast at Carmelo Anthony's wedding three years ago when he hinted that he,
Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire would eventually join forces in New York.

Thomas, a college
teammate of Knicks coach Mike Woodson and general manager Glen Grunwald, said
he doesn't give any basketball advice to his good friends but didn't hesitate
to suggest a path for the team through the media.

Asked
if the Knicks have topped out considering their lousy salary-cap situation this
summer, Thomas said, "They got to keep improving. Watching this series, if it
has shown us anything with San Antonio, your role players can get better every
year. Right now if the Knicks are going to improve, it's going to have to be
through the draft, development of role players and some of their core players.
I thought Carmelo Anthony was probably the most improved player on the team. I
think they got to get better with their role players and use San Antonio as the
model."

Keep
in mind, Gordon Hayward was drafted in 2010 with a pick that originally went
from the Knicks to the Phoenix Suns in the 2004 trade for Stephon Marbury, so
Thomas' affinity for draft picks seems like a new thing. If he cared so much
about player development when he was president of the Knicks, he might not have
been forced out of the organization.

Speaking
of which, Berman touched upon the subject of Thomas' exit.

Berman:

One
of the roadblocks to a Thomas' return, according to a source, was former Garden
president Scott O'Neil, who resigned last September. O'Neil, a source said,
felt it bad business to rehire Thomas in a visible role.

Asked
about whether he wants to be an NBA executive again, Thomas said, "I just got
my Master's from Cal (in education), just graduated. I'm enjoying working at
NBA TV. I'm enjoying not having to write 20-to-30 page papers."

In
other Knicks news:

• NJ.com's
Tony Williams spoke with South Dakota State point guard Nate Wolters, who
could interest the Knicks with the 24th overall pick: "That experience and ability to run an
offense is what Wolters thinks sets him a part from the rest of the point
guards fighting for notoriety. He reasoned those attributes would allow him to
seamlessly slide into the Knicks' rotation... 'They like to spread the floor out
and shoot a lot of 3s, so I think I'd fit in perfectly. This would be a great
fit. Jason Kidd just retired and Raymond Felton is a solid point guard, so I
definitely feel I can add to it. Hopefully I get the opportunity,' said
Wolters. 'I'm really good with the pick-and-roll game and I know they run a ton
of pick-and-roll. I can also spread the floor and get it to shooters. ... I
know I can also be a facilitator and I think it'd be natural for me. I can be
more a facilitator than a scorer. It was necessary for me to score in college,
so I had to put up a lot of shots. But I think my natural position is passing
point guard and making others around me better.'"

• Louisville
center Gorgui Dieng should be available with the 24th overall pick, suggested
ESPNNewYork.com's Ian Begley: "Dieng's lack of offense combined with his age (he's 23) may hurt
his stock. ESPN.com senior NBA writer Chad Ford reports that injury concerns
(ankle, knee) have caused Dieng's stock to slip. In his latest mock draft, Ford
has Dieng going 28th to the Spurs. That's outside of the 12-20 range that
Pitino has told Dieng to expect."